Lehmann-Willenbrock, Heinrich “Recke” born on 11-12-1911 in Bremen, in what was then the German Empire. Heinrich joined the Reichsmarine
of the Weimar Republic in April 1931, as an Officer Candidate, and received his basic training with the Naval Infantry. Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel who primarily operate in littoral zones, both on land and at sea. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore in support of naval objectives, and the boarding of vessels during combat or capture of prize ships. Marines also help maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (reflecting the pressed nature of the ship’s company and the risk of mutiny). In most countries, marines are an integral part of that state’s navy; in some countries their marine forces can also instead be part of the land army, such as the French Troupes de Marine, or an autonomous branch such as the United States Marine Corps.
Recke promoted to Sea Cadet in October 1931 and attended Navy Officer Training from March 1932 to January 1933. He was then advanced to the rank of Midshipman and spent the next two years performing at-sea training. In August 1933, he was also appointed as navigation officer of the naval tender “Weser”. He was advanced to Senior Midshipman in January 1935.
In April 1935, Lehmann-Willenbrock was commissioned as a Leutnant zur See (Lieutenant) and assigned as signals officer onboard the cruiser Karlsruhe. The following year, in September 1936, he was assigned for five months to the Naval Barracks at Glücksburg
before receiving orders to report as Watch officer onboard the sailing vessel Horst Wessel.
Horst Wessel was SA Sturmführer, and inventor of the Poem and “Horst Wessel Song”.
Lehmann-Willenbrock reported to the ship in February 1937, having received a promotion to Senior Lieutenant one month earlier. Heinrich served on the ship for twenty six months before applying to join the German Navy’s submarine branch.
Lehmann-Willenbrock transferred to the U-boat arm of the German Navy in April 1939. Upon serving as an executive officer on U-8, he was promoted to captain and took command of U-5
in December 1939. His first patrol, which lasted 15 days, was along the coast of Norway during Operation Hartmut, the U-boat operation in support of the invasion of Norway. Operationsbefehl Hartmut ( “Operation Order Hartmut”) was the code word to begin German submarine operations during Operation Weserübung – Nazi Germany’s invasion of Denmark and Norway. Occasionally these operations are termed Operation Hartmut. The orders involved submarine screening actions for the German invasion fleet and reconnaissance – particularly off Narvik and Trondheim. The orders also resulted in a number of attacks on Allied forces – particularly in or near the fjords of the Norwegian coast.
The U-8 was a German U-boat of the Type IIB. The boat was launched on 25-03-1935 at the Deutsche Werke in Kiel. The ship was taken into service on 05-08-1935 under Kapitan Leutnant. Harald Grosse. The boat was too small to carry out operations far from her base. Therefore, the U-8 mainly served as a school boat for future naval officers.
Upon the return of U-5, Lehmann-Willenbrock was transferred to the newly commissioned U-96, a Type VIIC U-boat. During three patrols under Willenbrock’s command, U-96 sank 125,580 tons of Allied shipping. In 1941, U-96 sunk three British troop ships: Oropesa (16 January), Almeda Star (17 January) and Anselm (15 July), each with considerable loss of life. The seventh patrol was the approximate time that Lothar-Günther Buchheim
boarded U-96 and documented the boat’s operations in his book Das Boot.
Lehmann-Willenbrock left U-96 in March 1942 to be promoted to Korvettenkapitän
and appointed commander of the 9th U-boat Flotilla, stationed in Brest. On 02-09-1944 he assumed command of U-256 and escaped the besieged Brest just a few days before the town’s surrender. He reached Bergen, Norway, on 23 October. In Bergen he was appointed commander of the 11th U-boat Flotilla
in December, and held the position until the German surrender in Norway on 09-03-1945.
During his patrols with U-96, Lehmann-Willenbrock was awarded with the Iron Cross 2nd Class, the Iron Cross 1st Class, the U-Boat War Badge,
the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, and the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
for his achievements. He sank 24 ships for 170,237 gross register tons (GRT), damaged two ships for 15,864 GRT and damaged one ship as a total loss for 8,888 GRT. A total of 1,272 people lost their lives.
Death and burial ground of Lehmann-Willenbrock, Heinrich “Recke”.
Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock on the set with Jürgen Prochnowwho played the commander (“Der Alte”) in Das Boot.
For his outstanding service after the war he was decorated with the Bundes-Verdienstkreuz am Bande (Federal German Merit Cross 2nd class) in 1974. He was chairman of the U-Bootskameradschaft Bremen (U-boat comrades association Bremen) for many years, whose headquarters bear his name to this day.
Lehmann-Willenbrock, Heinrich “Recke” survived the war and died 18-04-1986 (aged 74) in Bremen and his body was cremated.

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